The National Lawyers Guild recently sent a delegation to Guatemala to observe the precedent-setting genocide trial of U.S.-supported military dictator Jose Efrain Rios Montt and his advisor Jose Mauricio Rodriguez Sanchez. In the wake of uncertainty over whether the trial would continue after widely criticized procedural developments over the last few weeks, we were pleased that the U.S. dispatched Ambassador at Large for War Crimes Issues Stephen Rapp to Guatemala to signal the importance of upholding the rule of law.

The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) urges the Federal Bureau of Investigation to respect the political asylum status of Assata Shakur (a.k.a. Joanne Chesimard). The FBI has designated the 65-year old former Black Panther Party member a “terrorist” and increased the bounty for her capture from $1 million to $2 million.